Major disappointment with this year draft by the Als. None of the players selected by the Als were amongst the top rated 15 CIS players.Calgary selected 4,4 for the Toronto,3 for BC and 1 each for Sask.,Edmonton,Hamilton and Winnipeg.
Two of the players selected- Matte-OL- in round 1 and Ihekwoaba-DE- in round 2- are in NFL camps; the other secound round choice-Dublanko-LB- is a junior. Furthermore, our 5th round choice-Ridgeway-LB- has had concussions issues which appear to have ended his career. Every year we select a player with physical issues or/and who does not want to play anymore.
Only 3 players of this draft will/should be at training camp; they are:Marc -Olivier Brouillette-QB/FS/SB- selected in round 3,Ryan Bomben-OL- selected in round 4 and Justin Conn-LB/LS- selected in round 6. Nothing to write home about!
We "passed"on players such as: Shawn Gore-WR-,Joash Gesse-LB-,Steveb Turner-WR/KR- and Taurean Allen-CB-
One of our worst draft in years,despite what Jim Popp says.
This draft reminded me of the 07 one whose first pick Richard Yalowsky had quit football after suffering injuries- that draft did not produce one player for the team. Todays draft was a very great suprise! I had expected the team would look for a receiver as Ben Cahoon's career will be coming to an end shortly and, the Als are weak at the Canadian receiver position. It was astonishing the the team passed on Cory Watson, Steve Turner and Shawn Gore! Kristian Matte the Concordia tackle will prove to be a good addition to the team unless he sticks with the NFL. Ihekwoaba made some of the ratings but the others were of questionable value as they were virtually unknown. Unless Popp found some diamonds in the rough, it would appear we now have a second 07.
I am curious as to how much CIS college ball you guys watch? I think this could be a very good draft for the Als.
1st. Rankings... They mean absolutely nothing. Josh Bourke wasn't ranked in the top recruits and 9 Olinesmen were selected ahead of him and today he is the TOP Left tackle in the game. Matte was dropped out of the rankings because he didn't want to participate at E-camp after accepting the invitation. Dublanko one of the top prospects to come out of Alberta was given his first shot at playing his position this year and he was brilliant. He is the biggest and toughest linebacker in the draft and has amazing attitude and is mentaly tough and very intelligent. If he is happy away from his Alberta farm he will have a great carreer in Montreal. Brouillette is the best "athlete" to come out of quebec since Eric Lapointe. The Als can convert him to play Safety, Corner or Receiver, phenom athlete. He has been the best player in minor ball, CEGEP and CIS.
Gesse had ACL surgery which always impacts speed, always ! and is having pain and swelling still as of today. Watson is 26 years old and there is no place on the roster for him to play right now so by the time he hits the field he could be 28 or 29.
Bender is going to the NFL, he's as much of a for sure NFL prospect as there is. Bulcke has no interest in playing in the CFL and especially not out east.
I trust our scouting. No matter what we've seen or think in CIS, the scouts are the ones that really know what the team needs, or who can help the team out the most. Before saying it is a major disappointment, I think we should see these players in action first.
Unfortunately we are not as smart/"Ti-Jos Connaissant" as you.
Josh Bourke was drafted in 2004-3rd round- not in 1st or 2nd- and graduated in 2006. He signed with Green Bay in 2006-undrafted free agent- and without his knee surgeries he would still be in the NFL.
Yes,Watson was 26 and it was one of my concerns. By the way,Conn will be 26 in August and Ridgeway turned 26 by the end of April and he has concussions issues.
Unlike Eric Lapointe who was a RB in College and in the CFL, Brouillette-yes, very athletic-but he is a QB and will be in a new position with the Als; by the time he becomes familiar and good-?- in his new position-FS or SB- it will be 2 to 3 years,if he makes it.
While I know that Mr. Popp and his team do make good evaluation of talent, I have concerns with this year draft.Matt Singer-he was supposed to be ready for the CFL- and Mousseau-he had said that he was done with football- of 2009 come to mind; so do the Gurminder Thind-health issues- of 2008 and the whole 2007 draft,except Donovan Alexander who was to Sask.last year and enabled us to draft Martin Bédard last year and Chima Ihekwoaba this year.
While I could be wrong and I surely hope so, I still think that today's draft by the Als ranks near bottom amongst CFL teams. If Matte and Ihekwoaba remain in the NFL, there will be no new CIS players on the Als roster,when the season begins next July. I also know that we can select 2 more players. Are these 2 amongst Houle-LB-,Sinotte WR-,Fils-RB-,Hughes-WR- ?We will know in the next few days.
Jim does Jim allways does, he picks the athletes, you cannot teach physical attributes.
At receiver it looks like maybe only one spot will be for Canadian snd nthing else. I wished we had picked Gore but Matte is a good choice.
Popp has a real good nose to figure out who has a legitimate shot at the NFL and it looks like Gore is one of those. I also think they will convert Brouillette to slotback.
Sais tu lire ? J’ai ecrit que Bourke avait ete choisis quelque chose comme neuvieme joueur de ligne en 2004 puis qu’il n’etait pas vu dans les 15 premiers sur aucun draft board, les draft boards veulent rien dire, chaque annee c’est pareil. Pour ce qui est de Conn c’est un long snapper qui peut jouer sur les unites speciales puis Ridgeway si il decide de retourner au jeu pourrait etre le vol du draft. C’est pas tout les choix qui sont enticipes d’etre des partants.
Hahah le ti joe du site c’est bien toi. Deux des jeunes que j’ai recrute joue dans le East-West Bowl la semaine prochaine, badre toi pas de repondre je vais te “parke” sur la liste s foes aka “Twit negatifs et pas tout la”
Well, not being able to land the best players in a draft is be expected when you win the Grey Cup. Further, the Als are quite strong at virtually every position. I have faith in Jim Popp. In many ways, he is to Montreal football what Sammy Pollock (for those of us old enough to remember who he was!) was to the Canadiens. There are always late cuts from the NFL to consider as well.
I love how Richard has the nerve to get irate just because someone offers a different opinion, and actually accuses Hfx of the condescension that he himself practices here on a regular basis. :lol:
Richard, sorry, but more often than not, you're the one who comes off like he's dispensing the wisdom of the gods on this forum. You have little respect for dissenting opinions and you rarely deign to engage in debate. Instead, you post your views and then disappear.
Hfx dared to disagree with you. Gasp. For that he must be flayed alive. :roll:
Yeah Ihekwoaba got a FA deal so did Bourke, Perrett,Carter,Girard,Phillion,Sanchez,Alexander,Deslaurier, Belli. All it means is that Popp picked a good prospect. What is important is knowing the difference between a guy who is drawing curiosity from the NFL like Ihekwoaba or a John Bender who is going to get a six or seven figure bonus. Jim is outstanding at this. He passed on Giguere but took Woodruff... I like that he has the guts to look down the road, that takes balls.
For Ihekwoaba to make it in the NFL he would have to move to the linebacker position and that is even more of a stretch than DE in his case as he is raw.
How many of the CFL guys knew 220 pound Brouillette can catch a ball and run a 4.5 forty ??? There was likely someone out there who had been looking at him and Jim would know as he had lunch with the kid a week ago. He could be a great receiver in this league if he decides to work at it. This is a guy who at Vanier was the fastest guy on the team and what a team it was !
Dublanko is right up there with Greenwood as the best pure linebacker in the draft. He has a mean streak, he enjoys the weight room like Shea Emry and he has a great attitude he can play both ways too. My favourite of Jim's picks.
Kristian Matte is a promising linesman who reminds Popp of Flory, what's not to like and his size is not a typical NFL linesman height and weight.
Ridgeway and Conn I know little about but gambling with your sixth and seventh pick is smarter than taking guys who have no chance of making your team.
Anyway I think I will stick with Jim "The Fonz" Popp instead of buying what Richard Cuntingham is selling... :lol:
What has made this draft such a puzzle to figure out is of course the college juniors and particularly the players trying out in the NFL. I dont know if the NFL situation is because of the rise in CIS talent or super zealous player agents. If you look at the first 2 draft picks of each of the teams, only Toronto has both players available for camp. Im not counting Ham. whose first 2 picks were in Round 3, or Wpg. whose 2nd pick was in Round 4.
When Matte and Ihekwoaba report to the Als (and I`m saying when not if!) it will be a very good draft for a team picking last. If Dublanko, Brouillette (thanks HfxTC for all that background on him), etc. make it down the road it will be gravy.
Not trying to show you up Richard, but just to set the record straight Belli was acquired from B.C. in a trade for C Angus Reid. And really history in these cases is meaningless, each situation is unique.
Are you upset with the choices, or just the fact we might not see them right away?
I just looked up Curtis Dublanko's record at the U of North Dakota- very impressive. He was an " outstanding junior ". He made " defensive player of the week", made 59 tackles and was ND's most valuable defensive player. This junior has good stats and, would appear to be a strong third round pick. With another year of NCAA football this will just add to his value. Matte has been awarded a contract after his tryout in the NFL. Duane Ford, in one of his writings, rated him as possibly the best tackle in the CIS..Brouillette's stats showed nothing at the CIS level. Living outside of Quebec I knew nothing of his physical abilities.All in all, it appears this draft was indeed a valuable one. Somehow Dublanko was missed by Duane Ford's writings.
I am disappointed with our 2 first choices,eventhough they are good athletes/players. Here you have 2 players that their only/main goal was the NFL-at E-Camp- and nothing else. I understand that you jump at the opportunity to make no less than 6 times what you would be making in the CFL but,please, a little respect for the CFL. I think that Kristian Matte will not make it,although he could be on the practice roster. His agent being Dr.Ping, he will explore all possibilities to stay with an NFL team. With regards to Chima Ihekwoaba, I definitely feel that he will stay in the NFL; being only 21, he will continue to grow and become better. He may be on the practice roster but I don't foresee him in an Als uniform. Another Israel Idonige?
No problem with Curtis Dublanko; all for that that we sign Junior player,particularly when there are good chances that he will be with the Als in 2011
Marc-Olivier Brouillette. Good athlete but we should be patient.
With the other 3, I have concerns with Brian Ridgeway who has had concussions issues. Hoping that he is OK.
Amongst the 7 players drafted, I do not think than more than 1 player will be with the Als when the season begings; this
player should/could be Justin Conn,because he is also a long-snapper.